From the article of 'Petrel'
No.710 / Junuary 4, 1999

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A VIVID LOCAL INFORMATION (from Nagano)

The Final Settlement of Accounts of the Nagano Olympic, a Large Commerce Event


Nagano was homochromous with the Olympic at this time in last year. What was that "festival of sports and peace" where 2,500 thousand people entered, the people in the world are wildly excited, and nearly 90% of inhabitants of prefecture said "to be good"? The thing that begins to be seen through the settlements of account after 1 year is the bourgeois, class, decadent ethos of this large event although it is natural case.

The operational expenses of the Nagano Olympic are the total amount of 113.9 billion yen. About the 59% wa supplied from "the television broadcasting rights fee" and "the approval" of "the sponsor" firm, 22% from "the donation and others," about the 10%, 11.6 billion yen from "the subsidy" of the prefecture, cities, towns, village, and the 9% from "the admission fee." In short, to include "donation," the 80% of the operational expenses are coming out from the part of the bourgeois such as firms, and the remainder consisted of tax and admission fee. As the result, the surplus of 4.5 billion yen arised on top of "moving" many people and they say it will be spent on "the promotion of the sports" from now on. Do peoples think as there is not such good particulars?

The Enormous Amount of Rights of the Sponsor

However, bourgeoisie did not defray "the rights charge," "the approval," and "donation" with good faith for "sports" and "peace" and "friendship." They defrayed from wily strategy looking to a enormous profit.

"The broadcasting rights fee" in this time was the highest yen of 56.4 billion yen in Winter Olympics, and the 60% was applyed to the operational expenses of NAOC. There was the strategy of TV companies that intends the increase of the CM revenue or the expansion of the pay broadcast by the communications satellite in the back. The large amount of "rights charge" strengthen the influence of TV company to the operation, and it is said that the opening ceremony was 11 o'clock a.m. was also the intention of CBS to combine it in the peak hour of U.S., for example.

"The approval" from sponsor reached 31.3 billion yen. If a company becomes the sponsor it can do the advertising campaign using the Olympic emblem exclusively and can sell the license merchandise. For example, the top sponsor, the Coca-Cola has such a right to fixe the runners of the 52% sacred-fire relay sections and made 5,500 people who wore the uniform containing the trade name of the company to escort the sacred fire runner. The Kodak of film extended the market share of the prefecture from 7% to 50% during the period. The Mizno Corp. sold the merchandise of 1.8 billion yen, the 50% premium in comparison to the plan, in the whole country, and so forth. This way, the gross margin of the license merchandise is said to have reached 30 billion yen.

According to the Nagano prefectural authorities, the total consumption amount of the audience and the visitor became 67.3 billion yen and "the production inducement" by this reached 178.7 billion yen. There was sufficient payback to the bourgeoisie even if they put out the 80% of the operational expenses. Of course, there was the primary investment of 1.7 trillion yen turned to the upgrading of the institution and the relating road, the bullet train for the Olympic opening. However,they said "the production inducement" to the whole country was 2.83 times, 4.7 trillion yen and the 52% was to the Nagano Pref. The bourgeoisie including the major general contractor and the sponsor firm had got a large amount of profit by "the Olympic special procurement."
The Invitation by Purchase

The Olympic not only has the effect to uplift the national consciousness for the bourgeoisie. It also bring about a huge profit directly.Therefore, they put their heart into the invitation campaign and try to materialized this even with using any kind of means. Now, the purchase suspicion in connection with the Salt Lake Winter Olympic invitation in 2002 become an issue. However, the semi-purchase to the member of IOC was carried out overtly even in the Nagano invitation. The invitation committee invited the 80% members of IOC to Nagano by first class airplane, accommodated in the high-class hotel attached 30 thousand yen of Japanese cooking, gave a expensive souvenir to everyone, and used 2 or 3 million yen to every one person. They say to have made a special train at the time of the invitation of Samaranch. They even did the gathering vote activity with concluding a consultant contract with an advertising agency in Lausanne. This way the half or more of 2 billion yen of the invitation campaign expense (tax) faded away as "the entertainment expenses," namely the purchase expense. However, the evidence book was incinerated, and concealed.

Unemployment and Liabilities to the Workers

The operational expenses do not fill to 10% of the Olympic total project expenses (1 trillion and hundreds billion yen) including the institution and the traffic base upgrading. The 90% or more of the project expenses are out from the tax of the citizen, the prefectural inhabitants, and the nations. They upgraded the infrastructure with cutting down 130 thousand trees, and the Large bourgeoisie who had put out a trifling "approval" made a manyfold of profit with the capital funds of the enormous tax of the peoples, this was "the Environmental Olympic" of Nagano.

Now after the Olympic having ended, there remain only the reality of unemployment and the heavy load of the liabilities for the workers and the general inhabitants in contrast to the bourgeoisie intoxicating by the "large success" and the the IOC members enjoying the usual privilege. A several hundreds persons is fall out of employment only in the construction workers who were concerned in the Olympic relating construction work. Moreover, the liabilities balance of Nagano Pref. become 700 billion yen at the end of the fiscal year '97, although it is not distinct how much is the part of Olympic. The debt burden rate is exceeding "the risky line" of 21%, and at the 3rd in whole country.

(Written by Obata / from Nagano)
(Translated by Yoshi)